Reenforced building element



May 22, 192.8. .1,670,557

K. WETTSTEIN REENFORCED BUILDING ELEMENT Filed MarGh 28, 1927 with orwithout similar filaments Patented May 22, 1928.

UNITED As'ra'ras PMaureenca.

-BEENroncED BUILDING ELEMENT." l

original application mea my 1s, 1924,ser1a1 no. 726,797, andfin GermanyJanuary 211921:.V Divided and this application tiled March 28, 1927.-vSerial No; 178,999.v v i My invention relates to flat and curvedbuilding elements having asurface to which plaster and other finishingmaterials adhere with great security, and these elementsare 5 made of acementitious material, such for kexample, a hydraulic cement or otherhardening material. The elements are intended primarily for buildingconstruction, such as plates, slabs, laths, boards, gutters, pipes andl" the like. g Y

My invention consistsv of a reenforced element having finereenforcements exposed, or substantially exposed, at thesurface of theelementwhich reenforcements serve alsoto '5 more securely retain anyplastic material applied thereto, and with verythin elements such asplates and gutters I make the reenforcements lie in themost-advantageous zone, the surface or surfaces of the slabs that 20 isto say the reenforcements lie on the surface or surfaces of the slabs..v

use fine filamentous reenforcements, readil bent, ,such as fine wire,textile threa s, either densely applied lengthwise, extendingtransversely or as net, as well as inexpensive fibres, as bast, hemp,hairrand the like, such buildin elements reenforced with fibres at thesurface being absolutely novel.

cated and close to one another at the surface of the slab or otherelement, being only partly embedded therein, and their ends arepreferably, but not necessarily, depressed within the body of theelement to protect them against; being readily loosened during handlingand shipping.

l am aware that slabs and other fiat or curved building elements withreenforcements have been made especially to form walls or ceilings byblocks, or sheets of cement for cornices, with metallic lathng embeddedin the middle of the elements, or elements with single wires or bars atthe 45, surface, and were not in the nature of fibres,

or such fine wire corresponding thereto.

lin using densely disposed thin wire fila- `ments placed substantiallyat the surface there results difficulty to prevent the projecting endsof the reenforcements coming These reenforcements I disposeunfabriamentous reenforcements when 9 5 neeessary at the margins of theelements and allow their ends'to project from the edges of the element,such projecting portions being used `to forma secure joint by theapplication therein of a plastic material, the projecting portions'jreenforcing the ma'- terial ofthe joint as will be later described.

Such j elements when `they are reenforced on both sides with wire, thinplates ork slabs utilize static forces to their fullest vextent andtheir whole outer lsurface ofv reenforcelment ive them exceptionalstrength and fiexibility. The densely applied fine wires -give a verylarge and excellent holding surface of good homogeneity that a pears asthough they had a kind of meta coating.

Assembling such elements withthe both sides l projecting wirefends andcoating bycement gives an excellent resistin jointr as the' ends extendinto the joint and old therein. l

When using wire reenforcements they shall be of such diameter that theycanv be readily bent around the edgesrof mold forms with 4the hands,preferably about 0.30 mm.y diameter, or about one seventy-fifth ofy aninch, and preferably not to .exceed one-sixteenth of an inch, and whencovering the Whole surface of the element by fine steel wirereenforcements I use such of a diameter about 1/12 to l/24 inch.

The bod of the elements can well be made of very lig it material, corkboard, magnesite, plaster of Paris, etc. and short fibre reenforcements;While with cementwire is used, especially steel wire under tension.

If it be desired that the reenforcements be depressed below the surfaceat their ends the stiff or flexible form sheets will have to be providedwith marginal strips that deflect these ends, as described in myaforesaid application. The art of applying reenforcements at the formsheet will depend upon the nature of them. When using long filamentousreenforcements, as wire, or threads, forms are wound with them, and thebuilding elements cast thereagainst, so that the reenforcements lie inthe surface of the element, whilel their ends at the marginof theelement are depressed or bent toward the interior of the mold, so thattheir ends lie below the surfaces of the coating and are embeddedthereinto prevent the reenforcements from being readily torn off duringshipping and handling. -When using a net or wire .work, especially adress work of longitudlnal and transversal wires the ends of themprojecting, the net will be stretched over the mo d sheets before usingas a mold.

y Using fibrous reenforcements these are applied to the form sheets as athin layer mixed with a suitable medium.

The building elements can well be used for floors, walls, ceilings orroofs or single plates and the curved form' for gutters and p1pes.

They may be made at a special plant, the elements with only one sidehaving iilamentous reenforcements are made in a s eclal manner also onthe job as elected, an u sed as facing, for strengthening or insulatingwalls, ceilings or iioors, forming one piece with it after settingmaterial. Such elements represent an important part of my 1nvention.

A further object of my invention relates to half cylindrical or curvedelements having filamentous reenforcements at the exterior face, theends of the reenforcement projecting and having preferably tongued andgrooved parts joined to gutters, p1pes or conduits. The reenforcementsmay cover the whole surface or their ends may be depressed at themargins of the element.

The double wire reenforced slabs form an excellent substitute for slate,tarred paper or corrugated iron for roofs. They do not scale off andserve both as construction elements and roof covering supports, 1n laceof sheathing, and by reason of their arge size do not require so muchsupport. When curved they may form curved roofs of small weight, andwater and fire-proof.

The thickness of these elements may be as little as three-eighths of aninch, and .they are readily cut with an emery disc or with a cold chiseReferring to the drawing, in which like parts are similarly designated-Figure l is a perspective view of a plate or slab reenforced at bothsurfaces with fibrous material.

Fig. 2 is a similar view of like buildin element reenforced on oppositefaces with fine wire. i

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a half cylinder, or gutter, reenforcedonly at the exterior face, showing in dotted lines a similar cover, toform a pipe.

Fig. 4 is a cross section on a very much enlarged scale, showing how thereenforcements are exposed at the surface.

Fig. 5 is a pers ective view of the manner of making a con uit outofhalf cylindrical reenforced elements by breaking the joints. 6 shows themanner of making the reen orced wall in place.

Fig. 7 shows a longitudinal section of a slab natural size, aboutone-half inch thick v reenforced on both faces with line wire.

Fig. 8 is across-section of Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is a cross-section of asimilar element when the reenforcements do not project beyond the edgesbut are depressed below the faces at the margins of the element.

10 is a section and Fig. 11 is a plant showlng the manner of making ajoint b'etween two elements.

\ Fig. 12 is a sectional view, and Fig. 13 is a plane showing anotherform of joint, em-

ploying a tenon.

The element a has one or both faces furi ted, and that they may be ofdifferent material if so desired.

With curved elements such as c the reenforcements are preferably on oneface, the

exterior face, and either fine wire, net orv fibre may be used, a secondreenforcement layer may be embedded in the bodymoreover.

The ends of the reenforcements may o`r may not be depressed from thefaces at the margins and extend through the edges.

In laymgsemi-cylindrical elements as in Fig. 5, the ends may interft bymitre joints as at c, or by tongue and groove, the projecting ends ofthe reenforcements being covered with cement in the customary manner bylayingt-he half cylinders in broken joints a strong pipe of any lengthdesired can bc made, as illustrated in Figure 5.

Inasmuch as I make the elements with a thm cement mixture and the moldis shaken or jarred during filling the cement ver-y lightly coats theexposedl faces of the recnforcements and protects them against rusting.

While the metal does not show, its presence is noticeable from the form,and a weather-proof coating is not necessary, buty may be applied, ifdesired.

In Fig. 6 I have illustrated the manner of covering or projecting wallson their inner or outer side. The wall itself forms one face of themold. The opposite face is formed by a mold board d the side of whichadjacent the wall is provided with lilamentous reenforccments,preferably fine wire, or mesh, or 'if it be desired this face of theboard may be provided with fibres caused to adhere thereto by a cementor other binder until the form is poured, after which the reenforcementsadhere to the cast- Iing as shown in the lower part of Figure 6.

These elements may have placed the reenforcements at the whole surfaceor de- B5 It is, of course, obvious that one 4 pressed below the surfaceat their ends and joined to the adjoining parts by the projecting endsof the reenforcements in a known manner. It is obvious such wallboardsmay be composed of flat or curved elements.

In Figures 10-13 I have shown two different joints for building elementshaving fine wire reenforcements on both faces, and the reenforcements ofboth elements to be joined extend across the joint. 'I he elements arespaced from one another a distance equal to the length of the projectingwires, the projecting wires of one elementoverlapping those of theadjoining element at both faces and the space filled with cement alone,as in Fig. 10, to form a tongue and groove connection.

In Fig. 12 the bodies of the elements abut directly, one having a groovela and the other an inserted feather Z projecting therefrom and enteringthe groove 1:, the portions Z and the projecting overlapping wires beingcemented. This makes a very strong and fully resistable joint, so thatwhen such slabs are used for roofs, the rafters need not be placed soclose together. The fine wires preferably project into a depression orrabbet, as at z' so that they can be readily covered with cement. l

I have succeeded by my invention in making very thin, light elements, asthin as one-quarter of an inch, suitable for use as wall board, andhaving a surface dimension of 3 x 6 feet, though with thicker slabs theymay have a larger area.

I claim- 1. A building element,` comprising a hardening, cementitiousbody and individual filamentous reenforcements close together on a face.thereof whose ends at the margins of the elements are submerged in thecementitious body.

2. A building element, comprising a hardening, cementitious body andindividual lilamentous reenforcements on' a face thereof ,whose ends atthe margins of the elements are submerged in the cementitious body andproject from the edges of the elements.

3. Flat building elements, comprising a hardening, cementitious body andseparate lamentous reenforcements on both faces thereof whose ends atthe margins of the lcnents are submerged in the cementit-ious 4. Abuilding element, comprising a hardening, cementitious material andseparate fine wire surface rcenforcemcnts on the faces thereof Whoseends are submerged below the surface at the margins of the elements.

5. A building element, compri-sing a hardening cementitious material andseparate fine Wire surface reenforcements on the faces thereof whoseends are submerged below the surface at the margins of the elementsandproject from the edges of the elements.

6. A building element comprising a hardened cementitious body andindependent longitudinal and transverse reenforcements on a face thereofwhose ends are submerged below the face of the elements at theirmargins.

7. A building element, comprising a hardened, cementitious body andlongitudinal and transverse fine wire reenforcements on a face thereofwhose ends are submerged below the face of the elements at their marginsand project from the edges.

8. A building element, having filamentous surface reenforcementssubmerged at and extending beyond the edges and Whose edges are groovedfor the reception of a bond.

9. A building element having fine wire surface reenforcements Whose endsare depressed toward the centre of the elements and project from theedges thereof, the edges of the element-s being grooved between thereenforcements of the faces for the reception of jointing bond.

10. A building element of cementitious material having surfacefilamentous reenforcements whose ends are depressed at the margins ofthe elements and submerged in the material, and having grooves in theiredges and a feather secured in a groove for entering the groove of anadjoining element In testimony that I claim the foregoing as myinvention, I have signed my name hereto.

KARL WETTSTEIN.

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